Archive: Civil Justice Task Force

  • Trespasser Responsibility Act June 21, 2013

    Summary The Trespasser Responsibility Act provides that land possessors owe no duty of care to trespassers and are not liable for harms to trespassers except in limited situations that are recognized in the common law of most states. The model act reflects the common law’s status-based approach to land possessor duties with respect to invitees, licensees, and trespassers.  The act is a response to recent “reformist” efforts to replace the historical status-based approach with a unitary standard imposing on land possessors a duty to exercise reasonable care to all entrants, including trespassers in situations in which liability traditionally has not […]

  • Asbestos Claims Transparency Act June 21, 2013

    Asbestos Claims Transparency Act Model Policy Title __ of the [   ] Code is amended by adding Chapter ___ to read as follows: Chapter __.  Claims Involving Asbestos Exposure Section 1. {Short Title}  This chapter may be cited as the “Asbestos Claims Transparency Act.” Section 2. {Findings and Purposes}  (A) Findings. The legislature finds that:   (1) The United States Supreme Court has described asbestos litigation in this country as a “crisis”;   (2) Asbestos litigation has forced an estimated eighty-five employers into bankruptcy.  The rate of asbestos-driven bankruptcies has accelerated in recent years.  Between 2000 and 2004, there were more asbestos-related […]

  • Rational Use of a Product Act June 21, 2013

    Summary  The ALEC model Rational Use of a Product Act clarifies the law as to when a manufacturer or other seller is subject to liability for injuries stemming from misuse of its products: the alleged injury must result from the reasonable, foreseeable misuse of the product.  The model act accomplishes this goal in two ways.  First, the model act assures that the reasonableness of the consumer’s conduct in misusing the product is taken into account.  The mere fact that a misuse might, in some way, be “foreseeable” is insufficient for imposing liability when the misuse was unreasonable. Second, the model […]

  • Honesty in Lawyering Act June 21, 2013

    Honesty in Lawyering Act Model Policy  Title __ of the [   ] Code is amended by adding Chapter ___ to read as follows:  Chapter __.  Attorney Misconduct  Section 1. {Short Title}  This chapter may be cited as the “Honesty in Lawyering Act” Section 2. {Findings and Purposes}  (A) Findings. – The legislature finds that – (1) State courts have held that Legislatures have constitutional authority to enact legislation affecting business or entrepreneurial aspects of the practice of law, as well as attorney misconduct that is against the public interest;[1] (2) The severity and number of high-profile episodes of unlawful or […]

  • Fair Share Act June 21, 2013

    Fair Share Act Summary ALEC’s model Fair Share Act provides that each defendant is liable only for damages in direct proportion to that defendant’s responsibility.  The model act also ensures that juries have an opportunity to consider the full picture of the events surrounding an injury when allocating responsibility, including the contribution of settling parties and those who were not named as defendants to the alleged harm.  Defendants are required to provide plaintiffs with adequate notice of their intent to designate one or more nonparties as wholly or partially responsible for damages.  Defendants must present sufficient evidence to support such […]

  • Regulatory Compliance Congruity with Liability Act June 21, 2013

    Regulatory Compliance Congruity with Liability Act Summary State legislatures and Congress have charged certain government agencies with ensuring that products are safe for public use and that services are provided in a manner that adequately protects consumers.  Government regulations provide standards for the design of automobiles, airplanes, construction equipment, bicycle helmets, swimming pools, lawn mowers, automatic garage doors, ladders and scaffolding, workplace protection, pacifiers and rattles, and even matchbooks.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically approves each prescription drug and medical device as safe and effective before patients can benefit from what can be life-saving treatments.  Insurers, public utilities, […]

  • Noneconomic Damage Awards Act June 21, 2013

    Noneconomic Damage Awards Act Summary The Noneconomic Damage Awards Act provides that an award for noneconomic damages shall not exceed a fixed amount adopted by the legislature or the amount awarded in economic damages, whichever amount is greater. Economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost income, are fully compensated and are not subject to the limitation. Model Policy Section 1. {Title} This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Noneconomic Damage Awards Act. Section 2. {Definitions} The following words, as used in this Act, shall have the meaning set forth below, unless the context clearly requires […]

  • The Phantom Damages Elimination Act June 21, 2013

    The Phantom Damages Elimination Act Section 1. {Title}.  This Act may be known as the Phantom Damages Elimination Act. Section 2. {Purpose}.  The purpose of this section is to prevent compensatory damage awards for medical expenses from including amounts that the claimant has not and will not pay for such medical care or treatment. Section 3. {Recovery of Medical or Health Care Expenses}.  In an action to recover damages resulting from death or injury, the damages that may be recovered by a claimant for reasonable and necessary health care services or treatment received shall include only: (A) amounts actually paid […]

  • Product Liability Act June 21, 2013

    Product Liability Act Summary The Model Product Liability Act (“Model PLA”) provides legislators with core product liability provisions reflecting the best practices of the states.  Approximately twenty states have codified their product liability laws; several did so based on the original ALEC model Product Liability Act adopted in 1995 (“the 1995 Act”).  The current Model PLA updates the 1995 Act to reflect three sets of developments:  tort law theories advanced in legislatures and courts since 1995; product liability laws adopted in state legislatures since the 1995; and the adoption of the Restatement, Third of Torts: Products Liability in 1998.  The […]

  • Class Actions Improvements Act June 21, 2013

    Class Actions Improvements Act Summary This Act makes several revisions to the basic class action statute or rule that has been adopted in some form by most states (i.e., Rule 23 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure).[i]  For the most part, the revisions clarify Rule 23 by making more explicit key interpretations of the rule that have been offered in recent years by federal (as some state) courts.  In particular, the Act tracks Rule 23, principally making five changes that states could adopt in an effort to achieve modest (but significant) improvements to their statutes and/or court rules governing […]